Method of making a surgical pad



May 7, 1963 w. M. scHoLL METHOD OF MAKING A SURGICAL PAD 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed June 24, 1959 Equf Z757 3 ff, Alf/ a TMI.,

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May 7, 1963 w. M. scHoLL 3,088,860

METHOD oF MAKING A SURGICAL PAD Filed June 24, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 haILZQI' W//am M. "Soho/l United States Patent O 3,088,860 METHOD F MAKINGA SURGICAL PAD William M. Scholl, 211-213 W. Schiller St., Chicago, Ill.Filed `Iulne 24, 1959, Ser. N o. 822,459 4 Claims. (Cl. 156-222) Thisinvention relates to improvements in a method of making a surgical pad,and more particularly to a surgical pad of the type that relievespressure from wearing apparel around an affliction, the pad cushioningthe region adjacent the afliiction and transferring the pressure tosurrounding healthy tissue in a gentle and non-aggravating way, and thepad having a digit loop thereon to maintain the pad in proper positionwhen in use, without resort to adhesive or a binding form of tie orbandage, although the invention will have other uses and purposes aswill be apparent to one skilled in the art.

In many cases of 4finger and hand injuries, and particularly in the caseof foot allict-ions such as corns, callouses, abrasions, bunions,enlarged joints, hammer toes, and the like it has ofttimes becomedesirable to utilize a surgical pad made of plastic material because ofIits clean appearance, launderability, du-rability, resistance to footacids, perspiration, and cleansing compounds, its high restorativepowers, its comfortable feel when in contact with the skin, etc. In manycases it is desirable to employ a surgical pad embodying a digit loopthrough which a finger or toe extends and by means of which the pad isheld in proper position around or adjacent an affliction. However, wherethe pad is made of plastic material diiculty has been heretoforeexperienced in endeavoring to attach such a digit loop in a sufficientlyeconomical manner for cornmercial production. Stitching could not beemployed because the stitches themselves would be the first portion ofthe entire structure to deteriorate. Adhesive was objected to because ofthe resultant stiffness between the adhesively joined parts and possibledeterioration under continued heat and warmth.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instantinvention to provide a surgical pad made of several layers of plasticmaterial and with a protruding digit loop attached to the pad, theentire structure being outlined and secured together in a singleoperation.

Also a feature of this invention is the provision of a surgical padhaving a digit loop extending from the pad body at an angle other than90, the loop being attached to the pad only at its ends.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a surgical padmade of `sheets or layers of plastic material heat sealed togetheraround the bounding edge of the pad, with a digit loop projecting fromthe pad and the ends of the digit loop caught in the same heat sealseam.

It is also a feature of this invention to provide a new and novel methodof making a surgical pad equipped with a digit loop.

Still another object of the instant invention is the provision of makinga surgical pad equipped with a digit loop, wherein the pad body portionsare heat `sealed together in a line line seam, and the digit loop itselfis joined at its ends to the pad body in the sarne heat seal seam andduring the same operation.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantagesof the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will becomeapparent from .the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 -is a top plan view of a pair of left and right heat sealingdies, illustrating the association of digit loops with the dies prior tothe for-mation of surgical pads;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially asindicated by the line II-II of FIG. 1,

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looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating pad bodymaterial associated with the dies;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the structure ofFIG. 2, greatly enlarged, and illustrating the operation of the die informing a surgical pad;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary Vertical sectional view through aresultant pad, illustrating the attachment of the digit loop to the padbody;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational View of a surgical pad embodyingprinciples of the ins-tant invention and made under the method of theinstant invention;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan View of the structure of the pad of FIG. 5; and

FIGURES 7, 8, 9 and 10 are top plan views of different forms of padsembodying principles of the instant invention and made under the methodembodied in the instant invention, to illustrate the Versatility of theinvention.

As shown on the drawings:

With reference to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, it will be seen that a preferredform of die for use in making the surgical pad of the instant Iinventioncomprises a base 1 of electrically conductive material, With a dieelement thereon indicated at 2 comprising an upstanding band ofelectrically conductive material shaped to define the outline orbounding edge of the resultant pad. This band has a knife edge orworking edge 3 which performs the cornposite operation of establishing afine line heat seal seam as well as a tear line for removal of the padfrom the waste material in a single operation, when the die is forcedinto the material and charged with a high frequency electrical current.This, of course, may be accomplished in any suitable electronically heatsealing press. In the event the resultant pad is to have an opening oraperture therethrough to receive an aliiiction, an additional dieelement is provided to form that opening. This die element in theillustrated instance is in the form of a circle, designated by numeral4, and is of the same construction as the die member 2, except it isthickened a-t the bottom to give it greater stability as indicated at 5.

Two such die elements, allochiral in character, are shown mounted on a`single base plate 1 in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, but it will beunderstood that any number of such elements, allochiral in character ornot, may be mounted on a single base plate, depending upon thecapability of the particular heat sealing equipment.

Each die member 2 is provided with a suitable slot or pair of adjacentslots in substantially any desired location consistent with the desiredlocation of the digit loop on the finished pad. In the instance of FIG.1, this slot or adjacent slots are in the side wall of the die element 2at one end of the structure. `On each yside of the die element 2 yis asuitable spring clip 6 carried by the die element itself. It should beespecially noted that the slot or slots and the spring clips 6-6 aredisposed well below the working edge 3 of the die element.

In the making of a surgical pad, an elongated strip of plastic materialcapable of being heat sealed, an unsupported vinyl iilm being highlysatisfactory for this purpose, has its ends passed through the slots orslots in the die member 2 as seen in FIGURE 1. The end portions of thisstrip 7 are then passed over opposed parts of the working edge of thedie element as indicated at 8, and then held in position against theside of the die element 3 by the spring clips 6 6, as clearly seen inFIGURE l. This strip may be adjusted so that the portion between theopposed points 8 is of the desired length for the digit loop in thefinished pad. Thus, it will -be noted that only the ultimately terminalends of the digit loop contact the working edge of the die duringoperation. Preferably, the ends of the digit loop are disposed over theworking edge of the die at an angle which may be controlled by the waythe end portions of the strip 7 are secured by the lspring clips. It ispreferable, however, to have the end portions of the digit loop crossthe Working edge of the die slantwise so that the resultant digit loopis connected to the pad to extend therefrom at an angle other than 90.

After the digit loop has been placed in proper position on the dieelement, laminated material forming the pad body is placed over the dieelement, or under the same as may be preferred. This laminated materialin the illustrated instance includes a thin plastic cover 9, anintermediate thicker layer 10 of plastic cushioning material which mayquite satisfactorily be plastic foam, and an opposed or outer coverlayer which may also be of plastic film. The cover layers 9 and 11 may,of course, be of yany desirable color, and may satisfactorily Ibe of thesame material as the digit loop 7. The plastic foam sheet or layer 10,which is considerably thicker than the films, may -satisfactorily be ofany of the thermoplastic foams, commonly known as vinyl foams, polyvinylchloride foams, polyester foam, polyurethane foam, or isoeyanate foam,and the like. Various materials might be utilized, it being onlynecessary that the materials be capable of being electronically heatsealed with a tear line established at the time the heat seal is made.

Next, the opposite side of the press may be brought down into engagementwith the laminations or superposed sheets of material. It is notnecessary to have a pair of like dies in the forming of the instantpads, but the flat plate is satisfactory opposite the die 2 and mayconsist of a conductive plate 12 surfaced with a suitable dielectric 13.When these parts have been placed in the required position, the die 2 isforced into the laminations as seen clearly in FIG. 3, andcontemporaneously charged with a high frequency current for a smallinterval of time. This establishes a heat seal seam 14 which defines thebounding edge of the resultant pad. In the illustrated instance, this isa fine line heat seal seam and the die also establishes a tear lineconjointly with the heat seal seam by which the finished pad may readilybe removed from the waste material.

In the greatly exaggerted showing in FIGURE 4, it will be seen that theends of the digit loop 7 are cut off where they pass over the workingedge of the die element 2, and these ends form a part of the same heatseal seam 14. Thus, the ends of the digit loop are secured to the padbody in substantially an invisible manner, and the attachment of thedigit loop is accomplished in the same operation in which the pad bodyitself is formed.

The die element 4 establishes another internal heat seal seam 15defining an aperture through the pad, as well as a tear line from whichthe plug inside the seam may be removed.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 I have illustrated one form of surgical pad that may beembodied in the instant invention. In this instance the pad is of theelongated type highly desirable for use alongside the foot adjacent abunion or an enlarged joint, and is of the shape made by the die shownin FIGS. l, 2 and 3. This pad is elongated in character and preferablythe aperture defined 4by the inside heat seal seam 15 is offset; thatis, nearer one side of the pad than the other as seen clearly in FIG. 6.It will be noted that the digit loop 7 extends from the body of the padat an angle other than 90 whereby this digit loop may more comfortablyembrace the toe of the user and the pad seat in proper position adjacentthe afiction, with no binding action on the toe by Way of the digitloop. With the digit loop disposed at an angle or slantwise, the pad maybe more readily applied and is more comfortable during use, remaining inproper position.

In FIG. 5 I have indicated a thicker portion 16 at one end of the padthan is the case at the other end of the pad. This is frequentlydesirable in the treatment of bunions and enlarged toe joints, and mayreadily be acquired by adding an additional one or more layers of 4 thefoam material in the desired location prior to the heat sealingoperation.

In FIG. 7 I have illustrated a pad of different shape, but formed in thesame manner and of the same material, with the digit loop 7, in thisinstance, projecting directly from one end of the pad and more nearly inthe plane of the pad body. Such a pad is desirable for use to alleviatea large callosity on the plantar surface of the foot, particularly inthe region of the metatarsal arch.

In FIG. 8 I have illustrated a still different form of pad, generallyindicated by numeral 18, made in the same way, but with the digit loopprojecting inwardly over the body of the pad. In this instance, noafiiiction receiving opening through the pad body is provided, but suchan opening is provided by way of an indentation or recess 19 extendinginwardly from the bounding edge of the pad and also defined by the heatseal seam defining the bounding edge of the pad. A pad of this characteris not only adaptable for various foot afllictions, but is desirable inmany cases for afiiictions on the hand of the user with `the digit loopextending around a finger or thumb.

In FIGURE 9 I have shown a pad made in accordance with this invention,indicated in general by numeral 20, in which the toe loop 7 extends awayfrom the pad body but at a different angle than the structure of FIG. 7.This pad is smaller in size and is suitable for an aliction such as acorn on the top or sides of a toe, and is also suitable for a small orrelatively deep wound on the hand for use lbeneath a bandage as a shockabsorbing medium.

In FIG. 10 a still different shape of pad is disclosed, indicatedgenerally by numeral 21, and wherein the toe loop 7 is disposed with theends of the loop slightly offset one from the other, that is the ends ofthe loop are not on a straight line transverse to the longitudinal axisof the pad body. Such disposition of the loop enables the use of the padin some locations where it is diticult to retain in position.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a novelsurgical pad equipped with ka digit loopy which may be made insubstantially any desired shape, contour, or size, and with any desiredvariations in thickness, and with the -digit loop disposed insubstantially any desired location and extending at substantially anydesired angle over or away from the pad body. It will also be apparentthat I have provided an extremely economical method of making such asurgical pad equipped with a digit loop, and a method that is easy andrapid to practice.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may fbe effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

I claim as my invention:

l. The method of making a surgical pad having a digit loop with the aidof a heat seal die having a relatively high wall and opposed springclipson said wall, including the steps of superposing a plurality oflayers of thermoplastic material, passing the ends of a strip ofthermoplastic material through an opening in the die wall, passing theends of the strip over the operative edges of the die and locking themin said clips, then pressing the die into said layers and passing a highfrequency current through the die to heat seal the layers together andembody the ends of the strip in the heat seal seam to provide a digitloop on the resultant pad.

2. The method of making a surgical pad having a digit loop with the aidof a heat seal `die having a relatively high wall and opposed springclips on -said wall, including the steps of superposing a plurality oflayers of thermoplastic material, passing the ends of a strip ofthermo'- plastic material through an opening in the ydie wall, passingthe ends of the strip over the operative edges of the die slantwise andlocking the ends of the strip in said opposed clips, then forcing thedie into said layers and the ends of said strip and joining the same ina heat seal seam defining the bounding edge of the resultant pad withsaid strip forming a digit loop extending from said pad slantwise to thepiane of the pad.

3. The method of making a surgical pad having a digit loop, includingthe steps of superposing a plurality of layers of thermoplasticmaterial, placing the ends of an elongated strip of thermoplasticmaterial at oppose-d portions of the line where said layers are to bejoined, holding the remainder of the strip away from said layers, andheat sealing the layers and strip ends together.

4. The method of making a surgical pad having a digit loop, includingthe steps of superposing a plurality of layers of thermoplasticmaterial, placing the ends of an elongated strip of thermoplasticmaterial at opposed portions slantwise to the line where said layers areto be joined, holding the remainder of said strip away from said layers,and joining said layers and the ends of said strip in a heat seal scamdelining the bounding edge of the resultant pad with said strip forminga digit loop extending from said pad slantwise to the plane of the pad.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,288,071 Lowe Dec. 17, 1918 2,619,961 Stewart Dec. 2, 1952 2,633,129Crawford Mar. 31, 1953 I2,686,556 Gerber et a1. Aug. 17, 1954 2,712,311Scholl `uly 5, 1955 2,783,474 Campagna et al Mar. 5, 1957 2,786,466Rudnick Mar. 26, 1957 2,878,153 Hacklander Mar. 17, 1959 2,888,013Levitt May 26, 1959

3. TTHE METHOD OF MAKING A SURGICAL PAD HAVING A DIGIT LOOP INCLUDINGTHE STEPS OF SUPERPOSING A PLURALITY OF LAYERS OF THERMOPLASTICMATERIAL, PLACING THE ENDS OF AN ELONGATED STRIP OF THEROPLASTICMATERIAL AT OPPOSED PORTIONS OF THE LINE WHERE SAID LAYERS ARE TO BEJOINED, HOLD-